Suffolk Planning Commission Votes To Move Forward With Moratorium

PATCHOGUE, NY — Now that the moratorium proposed for Patchogue Village was approved by the Suffolk County Planning Commission during a vote Wednesday afternoon, it will go on to another vote by the village board next week before officially being put into place.

In January, Patchogue Village officials decided to move forward with the proposed 18-month moratorium on new restaurants and bars during a board meeting. Mayor Paul Pontieri told Patch that he had met with the Chamber of Commerce restaurant committee to discuss the businesses located on Main Street and how some are struggling due to concerns about parking.

"We need to slow it down, give us a little time to gain control over the parking issue and allow us to make some hard decisions on how we have to deal with it," Pontieri said.

As a result, the moratorium was proposed on applications for those types of businesses looking to open in the village. After the village board held the public meeting, they decided to move forward with the proposal to the Suffolk County Planning Commission. The moratorium will apply to all future applications, meaning anybody who is looking down the road to open a business they will have to wait 18 months under the proposed moratorium.

The planning commission voted 8-1 to move forward with the moratorium, meaning that the final step will be for the Patchogue board to vote on Monday to officially impose the moratorium.

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